Convergence Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		1.5

Convergence Blu-ray Movie Review

Converge Elsewhere

Reviewed by Michael Reuben February 10, 2016

Convergence is a supernatural thriller with delusions of grandeur. Writer/director Drew Hall obviously wants to deliver An Important Message about life, death, salvation and the hereafter, but he's so busy mashing up genres that the film quickly loses its way. Characters appear and disappear without explanation, crucial backstory is left unexplored, and the plot changes direction without obvious purpose. It's hard to tell whether the film's spectral figures, splatter effects and zombie-like adversaries are fright-film staples or something more. A vague aura of religiosity cloaks the entire affair, but there's neither ghost nor God in the machine.

In 1999, Atlanta is rocked by a series of bombings echoing the real events of 1996. Police Det. Ben Walls (Clayne Crawford) leaves his wife and infant daughter at home when he is called by his captain, Saul Miller (Mykelti Williamson), to investigate the latest incident. There are vague references to the date being an important anniversary for the detective, who may or may not have a personal connection to the current bomb attacks.

After spotting two potential suspects in a deserted building, Ben awakens in a curiously depopulated hospital with Captain Miller sitting beside him. There follows a series of cryptic conversations, corridor sightings of dark smoky figures, encounters with random people whose loyalties switch from one minute to the next, and a series of murders (or are they?) using knives, guns and bare hands. Det. Walls can't see clearly because his glasses have gone missing, and it's emphasized that he is "far-sighted", which is obviously meant to have some sort of significance, much like the security guard (Gary Grubbs) whose nickname is “Grace”. Covering all bases, Hall throws in several scenes of torture-porn, with body parts being hacked off while the victim screams in pain and terror.

All of this has something to do with an evil character named "Daniel", who is played by Ethan Embry and has been given dialogue intended to suggest either a fallen angel or a religious fanatic—viewer's choice. Eventually we get the semblance of an explanation, but it requires the third-act introduction of a whole new cast of characters. They're paranormal researchers investigating unsolved crimes, and one of them might as well have a sign around her neck that says "I See Dead People".

According to IMDb, Hall intended each of the hospital's floors to correspond to a level in Dante's Purgatorio. The effect is definitely purgatorial, but not in the way Hall intended.

Convergence Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shot on Red, Convergence arrives from Dark Sky Films on a 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray that aptly reproduces the film's bland production design with its cool tones (except in select flashback and "flash-forward" scenes) and lack of strong color (except for the red of blood). The image is detailed and sharp in the usual style of digital photography, with an absence of noise or artifacts. The average bitrate of 18.00 Mbps might seem low, but there are plenty of quiet scenes and freeze frames that allowed the compressionist to stretch the bit-budget.

Convergence Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Convergence's lossless DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack has plenty of "jump" effects and abrupt transitions from noise to silence and back again. The mix is well-reproduced, but it's as derivative in its technique as the rest of the film.

Convergence Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making Of (1080p; 1.78:1; 7:04).



• Deleted and Extended Scenes (1080p; 1.78:1; 17:12): The scenes are not separately listed or selectable.



• Trailer (1080p; 1.78:1; 2:18): In addition to film's trailer, the disc plays trailers for additional Dark Sky films at startup.

Convergence Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hall likes to reference things. His hero spends most of the film wearing a sweatshirt with the prominent slogan "Klatoo Veritas Niktoo", which some may recognize as a portmanteau of the signature alien phrase from The Day the Earth Stood Still, combined with the official motto of Harvard University. What does it mean? No idea—but you can buy the sweatshirt at the film's website. I'd recommend that over the Blu-ray.